A voltage regulator is a power supply circuit that generates voltage of a desired potential from DC or AC power supply. Voltage regulators have been widely used as circuits for supplying an optimum power supply voltage to various electronic devices.
Switching regulators using transistors made of semiconductors having a wide band gap, such as GaN and SiC, have recently attracted attention. Since these semiconductors have a band gap wider and a breakthrough voltage higher than those of Si, a high voltage can be applied to a transistor of a smaller size, and these semiconductors are expected to be used as high-speed switching elements with a high breakthrough voltage for voltage regulators.
Such a voltage regulator is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-235952.